


in search of the right pair

by Grilled_Koi



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Break Up, Chatlogs, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Homophobia, M/M, Post-Canon, or almost everyone, this is for akechi solely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grilled_Koi/pseuds/Grilled_Koi
Summary: You're gay, you're boyfriend broke up with you right before a date on Christmas. Now you're freezing away, with only a sweater on.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Food, Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru, Sakamoto Ryuji/Reader, Sakura Futaba/Yoshizawa Sumire, Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Kudos: 26





	in search of the right pair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [39000LoveSongs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/39000LoveSongs/gifts).



> my neck hurts, i have bad posture when doing anything at my desk.....
> 
> also should be working on my fic....but wHO CARES! not i!

Winter was always cold, you never liked it. It was a lonely season for you, but maybe, it’s not going to be anymore. You thought.

Snow dances down. Your eyes watch as couples hold hands with their gloved fingers. Their smiles warm and cheeks red to the winter’s cold and bristling wind. Christmas lights make Shibuya look cozy, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t cold. 

You try to warm yourself, only having a scarf and outside waiting for your boyfriend. It’s been 15 minutes and it feels like he’s ghosted you.

At the sound of your phone chiming, you open it and see that first message. Shock, anger, sadness, it all rushes into you.

bf <3  
  
i think we should break up  
  
we're obv not working and like i don't think i like guys  
  
Okay, yeah sure. We've been dating for only like a year, no problems with me.  
  
quit acting like i'm the one who caused this, if you weren't gay, i'm 100% sure we would still be friends  
  
imma be real with you, you’re just a pain to me, i don’t even know why i dated you, you’re not even pretty enough to show off to my friends  
  


Your eyes read over the text, over and over and over and over again. The words, they felt _expected_ , like it was going to come one way or another. Whether you liked it or not. Boiling hot tears rolled down your cheeks, frozen stock still by cold and the shock. Like a withered plant, you slowly lifted your knees and curled yourself into a fetal position.

Snow continued to fall down gently, the wind harsh and dry, and the lights that hung around you were like fairies taunting you. Taunting you for your horrible luck and loneliness. 

You felt so, so empty, breakups were god awful and this time you thought that maybe, maybe you finally found the right one and everything would be better. But of course, it wasn’t. 

Burying half of your face into your sweater, you stared at the people walking by you, blankly, at the couples that passed by. Their smiles, laughs, _everything_. You just wanted _that_. Some semblance of someone who truly did care for you. 

“-ey, hey? You there?”

You heard a voice in front of you, “Hm?” barely processing it all, the cold slowing down your thinking, then of course you realized, “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry. Am I in the way of something? I’m so sorry, I’ll get out of the way.”

You got up, well almost before the person, _“Blond and cute…”_ , started.

“Nah, not really. Just saw you sitting around here and- Wait. Is that all you’re wearing? Holy shit, how are you not freezing!” The blond man in front of you takes off his jackets and proceeds to wrap you around it, warmth instantaneously returning to your frozen body. 

“T-thank you…”

He smiles, you notice the little dimple on both sides of his cheeks as he smiles, tooth and all. “No problem! You wanna go get some ramen with me? To warm you up?”

“S-sure.”

You probably should be suspicious, it was just some random stranger who just found you freezing away in Shibuya after getting dumped. But for some strange strange reason, you felt warm.

The both of you entered a ramen place, _“Ore no Beko…? I think I’ve seen this while walking around here…”_ Within an instant, heat wraps around you and you seat yourself next to the blond man.

“I normally hang out with my best bro here, but it’s Christmas so he had y’know plans with his lover. Oh! I forgot to give you my name, I’m Ryuji Sakamoto, just call me Ryuji.”

His smile is still as bright and you try to reciprocate with your smile as you give him your name, “My name Kiyo Daisuke, and ah likewise. Thanks again for bringing me here.”

The two of you order, a medium for you and a large for Ryuji. Halfway through your meal, Ryuji asks what happened and why you were outside freezing away. You reluctantly explain, scared that he would judge you. 

As you talk about your ex-boyfriend, he’s silent through it all. Not a single peep, he doesn’t even take another bite out of his ramen. Just complete silence. And when you finish, regret is already climbing on your back.

_“What if he’s homophobic? What if he hates when weak guys like me cry over a breakup?”_

Questions flit through your head, you drown yourself in doubt, in fear. “What ifs” surrounding you, relentlessly like a pack of wolves.

“-ou there with me? Kiyo? Heeeey, Earth to Kiyo.” 

“Ah, I’m sorry, was just, um thinking…”

Ryuji let out a small huff, “You think way too much…I said you wanna go to the arcade and play some games to forget about him?”

“Y-you’re not disgusted with me being gay…?”

He gives you a bewildered look, “Why would I be? All my friends are gay and like it doesn’t mean you’re not human so why would I be?”

“O-oh…” Relief surges within you. Your eyes well up with tears again, you can barely control them as they roll down in droves down your cheeks, as another dam broke within you. 

He flails around, arms shooting towards the napkin dispenser and looking at you with worry, “Oh shit, shit! You alright there, I didn’t say anything rude did I?”

You shake your head hard, the tears aren’t stopping and your voice cracks when you give him a meek reply, “J-just really happy…”

His shoulder relaxes and he offers a napkin, you grab it and mutter a quiet thank you. 

When you finish crying, your eyes are a bit red and puffy, nobody spares a glance towards you, minding their own business and some assuming that you just got a little too tipsy.

“Arcade?” Ryuji asks you, his voice a little lower but his smile still there and still leaves you warm.

You nod, “Yeah.”

The arcade isn’t all that far away, it being only a minute walk away from Ore no Beko. There you play with him, trying your luck with the crane machines, competing against him at DDR and Gun About. You lose most of the time, but that didn’t mean your smile was wider than earlier.

Time quickly passes by and it’s almost midnight. Your cheeks red now not because of tears but from smiling too much. 

“Ah, it’s almost midnight already…we both should probably go home now before the trains stop.”

Ryuji finishes his soda, checking his phone, “For real? Time just flew by us. Well, before you go, wanna share chat IDs?” 

“Sure.” 

You share your ID, a small jingle comes from both of your phones and you bid farewell to Ryuji when you part ways at the station, feeling warm despite the lack of good heating from the train. 

As you take off Ryuji's jacket and head for the bathroom, you quickly start drawing a warm bath. Exiting promptly to water your plants, and then you spot his jacket again.

At first, you couldn’t help but smile, “Pretty nice of him…”

Then you remember, “Wait…this is _his_ jacket…”

Then you panic, “Oh no, no, no! Trains already stopped, he must’ve been freezing his way back home!!!”

You scramble for your phone, dashing towards the bathroom and opening up the messaging app.

Ryuji Sakamoto  
  
Hello! I'm so sorry but I forgot to return your jacket back. You weren't freezing on the way back, right?  
  
nah i had like three layers so it didn't really matter  
  
I'm truly apologize about this...do you want to meet up somewhere tomorrow morning to get your jacket?  
  
ill just come over to pick it up dont want you freezing away again  
  
also cuz i dont think anything cheap is open that early  
  
It won't be too much of hassle for you, right? I would rather not bother you too much...  
  
nooope  
  
Alright then, lemme send my address to you.  
  
You sent your location to Ryuji Sakamoto!  
thanks cya tomorrow then!  
  


Dropping your phone, happy that you managed to solve the issue.

After washing yourself and soaking within the warm water, you slip into your bed. Sleep was neither too hard to get nor too easy. It always took a while before you slept, but it wasn’t too much of a long wait. Giving you some time to mull over the matters of whatever happened that day.

_“Broke up with my boyfriend then made a new friend…”_

You rolled onto your back, eyes on the ceiling.

_“Ryuji’s pretty nice…his girlfriend should be pretty happy with a guy like that.”_

Turning on your phone one last time, you see a message from Ryuji saying good night. You send a little gif saying good night. When you exit the chat room, you see your ex’s name and your mood instantly sours.

“Definitely blocking him…”

Morning comes by quickly, you’re eating some leftovers from a while ago when the doorbell rings. You walk over expecting Ryuji and a round of knocking comes. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

You open the door with a smile, then you see who it was.

“Took you long enough you gay bitch, I was calling you all fucking morning because I needed to pick up something from your ratty apartment. You probably blocked me or something, didn’t you?”

Your body shivered, your ex was always way taller than you with you being only 5’3” or 160cm. His towering figure always sent shivers down your spine. Smile instantly replaced with a neutral look as your ex shoves you out of the way.

His footsteps are loud, booming across your apartment. You hope that anyone who lives below you was already awake or was a heavy sleeper. 

Walking over, you wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to take cash from your wallet and stuff it in his pockets. He always did that when he thought you weren’t looking, most of the time you managed to catch him before he left with 10 thousand yen. And that was what he was doing _again_. 

“Hey, don’t take cash out of my wallet for once. Can’t you work or something?”

He looks at you with a hard glare, that same glare that you can barely stand up to. 

“Fucking fine, I’ll just take my printer and go, a bitch like you don’t deserve a present like this in the first place.”

_“You won that at a raffle anyway, why should I care?”_

Your ex leaves, shitty printer in tow, and you can’t help but feel like all your energy just washed away. Your hand moves to close it, not bothering with locking it and when you get to the living/dining area you couldn’t help but just slump down on the wall.

You feel stupid, so stupid for not seeing how he treated you. Thinking that all of his apologies meant something and that he would hold his promises.

“I was so fucking stupid, trusting someone like that…”

And of all things, you felt so _tired_. Was being gay so god damn wrong? That happiness was near impossible to achieve?

From the back of your mind, you noticed footsteps, not as loud as your boyfriends but equally as ignorable. Then finally two warm hands shook your shoulders, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Kiyo? You alright?”

When your ears registered his voice, you couldn’t help but just hug him on instinct. The blond sputtered, still he silently hugged you back. 

_“He’s always so warm…”_

The two of you were on the ground, hugging away, you could feel Ryuji rubbing circles on your back. Your energy slowly returns as you clung onto him.

“Something happened?”

“My ex came over, thought it was you so I didn’t even double-check and let him in. He wanted his printer back and was about to steal another wad of cash from me…”

“For real? At least he didn’t walk away with it…”

You nodded, still tired but Ryuji was like your stuffed teddy bear when you were little. Always there when you needed it the most. 

“When I think about it, I was pretty stupid. He probably dated me for the cash. In the beginning, I gave him some, thinking he wouldn’t ask for more later. Then he did and when I said no, he tried stealing money from me…always saying sorry and that it was some old habit of his from when he was a kid. Always promised me that he would get better and get a job so that he wouldn’t do it again. I was so _so_ stupid. Why did I even date him? For a year even!” 

“You ain’t stupid, Kiyo. He was just a manipulative asshole, a rotten adult who used you. At least you’re not in a relationship with him anymore. If you need help with him, I’ll kick his ass for you. No questions asked.”

You can’t help but let out a laugh, _“Ryuji would do that, wouldn’t he?”_ and you let go of him.

“Ah, thanks again…sorry if I took up your time, rambling about my boyfriend and all that. You probably had someone yesterday, so um sorry again.”

Ryuji gives you a look, then points at himself, “Me? No, no way, I’m single. No one’s really interested in a guy like me. Besides, my friends been through shit, I’ve been through shit. So I know that you shouldn’t be alone when the world decided to fuck you up. It happened to me and my friends before because of my bro’s boyfriend and all I can say is that don’t go through shit alone.”

“Wait, wait-” you laugh a bit, “what happened? I probably shouldn’t be laughing, but that way you said it though-” Another fit of laughter starts as you finish your sentence.

“Hey, I was trying to say something smart here! But uh I probably shouldn’t say it without asking for my bro’s permission.”

Guilt instantly washes away the warm feeling in you, setting dread in your stomach, “Oh, um sorry about that. I really shouldn’t have laughed should I?”

“Nah, it’s alright. Been a few years since it happened. And I got you to laugh! Which is good in my book,” His smile wipes away at the guilt and dread sitting in your stomach, “You wanna chill out and watch some Featherman? If you got free time of course.”

“I’ve got plenty of free time, so it won’t be a problem. But uh, what’s Featherman?”

Ryuji gives you another look and you’re confused, _“What is it…?”_

“C’mon, we’re binge-watching all the seasons. There’s no way in hell I’m your friend if I don’t show you what Featherman is!”

You’re dragged to your couch, he turns on your TV and hooks up Netflix and there you see a plethora of accounts for a second before Ryuji picks his account and starts Featherman. For hours on end, you watch it, side by side with the occasional snack between the two of you. Your eyes stay planted on the TV, the seemingly cartoonish show pulling you in with ease and your childish self just explodes.

You laugh and cry and shout at the show, Ryuji doing the same thing too. And before you knew it, it was already night time and you were only a quarter of a way done. Leftover Uber eats on the coffee table and crumbs _everywhere_.

“Holy shit, how did I not find this before?!”

Ryuji only shrugs, sipping away at his diet coke, “Dunno, but hey at least you get to enjoy it all!”

You stare at the mess in front of you, a goofy smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart. 

“Ah, shit. Gotta go now, the trains are gonna stop soon so I probably should go. I won’t be free for a while so promise me you’re gonna watch everything? And text me about it too!” He gets up, putting on his purple jacket that was resting on the chair a second ago.

“Let me walk you out, it’d be rude of me to treat a guest like this.” 

Right before Ryuji leaves, his shoes already on, his eyes widen a bit and he snaps, “Oh yeah! I forgot! Me and my friends are having a New Year’s Eve party soon, you wanna come with me?”

“I’d love to, but wouldn’t I be intruding though…?”

He shakes his head and gives you a thumbs up, “Nope! You’re a friend of mine so it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh…” you tossed that word in your mind a bit, _“Friend...been a while since someone called me that…”_ , you scratch your neck a bit and decide, “Sure, when’s it gonna be?”

“Nice! It’s at around 5 pm so I’ll pick you up at like 4:45. Remember to wear more layers by the way! See ya!”

The rest of the few days you spend just binge-watching Featherman, texting, and sometimes calling Ryuji to gush over your beloved character. When New Year’s Eve rolls around, your nerves are a bit fried. Ryuji told you numerous times to not worry about his friends, but of course, you still worry.

In your cashmere sweater, you hype yourself up a little bit. 

“You can do this Daisuke Kiyo, Ryuji’s friends are nice like he said before. There’s no reason why Ryuji would lie to you.” 

You repeat it to yourself a couple of times, in the middle of your third repeat, your bell rings and you quickly check who’s on the other side. And thankfully this time it’s Ryuji. 

Opening the door, he waves at you and asks, “Hey, Daisuke! Ready to go?” 

You nod, letting him lead the way. 

It’s a bit of a trip getting to Yongenjaya, a little neighborhood you’ve never heard of. It’s quiet there, unlike where you live, and when Ryuji finally stops, you look up and read the sign, _“Leblanc, coffee and curry…that’s one weird combo...:_

“Daisuke? You coming in?” He waves his hand in front of your face, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Y-yeah, sorry for spacing out again.”

“It’s alright, c’mon it’s warmer inside.”

You follow him inside, the smell of coffee and spices invade your nose. It’s warm and cozy, as expected of any small cafe you’ve found before. Your eyes wander to the painting next to the door, a feeling of care washes over you as you look at the piece and you feel as though you can recognize it.

Before you could think about it, Ryuji drags you over to a booth and sits you down. 

A girl with black hair offers you a smile and starts, “Ah, so you’re the guy Ryuji’s been talking about lately. I’m Shiho, Shiho Suzui.” 

“A pleasure to meet you all, my name's Daisuke Kiyo. Hope I’m not intruding or anything…” You smile gingerly, a bit nervous.

The bespectacled man adds, “Akira Kurusu, and don’t worry about it. Any friend of Ryuji is a friend of mine.”

The blond beauty nods cheerfully, “Yeah! I’m Ann Takamaki, Shiho’s girlfriend by the way.”

Right beside you, a black cat with white features meows at you and you can’t help but pet it.

“Oh, that’s Morgana by the way, we sometimes call him Mona for short. He says hi too.” Ryuji explains as you continue petting the cat.

You smile at the pet, scratching its chin, “Ah, what an elegant name for a cute cat.”

“I wouldn’t call it cute if I were you,” a loud meow, and Morgana jumps up on the table and hisses at Ryuji, “What? We both know you ain’t cute!” Another hiss from the cat, but no attempts to scratch it, “Don’t talk like you got a girlfriend!” 

You watch, confused, it’s almost as if Morgana and Ryuji were having their own conversation.

Akira laughs a bit, you look at him, about to ask a question, “Don’t mind them. How can I say it? We understand Morgana, and ah, well you seem like the type to not tell anyone. Have you ever heard of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?” 

You nod, confused at how the two are even connected. 

“Actually. Let’s wait for everyone else here to come before we say anything.” He winks, his charm instantly shuts you up with a small blush on your face and you nod along. 

Your memory clicks in and you remember who Ann Takamaki is. A well-known model who has even attended the Met Gala several times, all of which with her girlfriend, Shiho. Shiho herself a volleyball player with several wins under her title with being a part of one of the top women’s volleyball teams in Japan.

You find that the former Detective Prince, Akechi Goro, is with Akira and you can’t help but be a little happy for them. They were insanely cute and insanely tall, both of them being 5’10 and 5’11 respectively. Both are successful with their jobs, Akira being the owner of a popular coffee shop and Goro who works with Nijima.

Yusuke, a large name within the art world for his piece at age 19 or so your coworkers have told you, introduces himself and apologizes for not having a gift for you. You tell him not to worry, but he only presses forward with his apologies, with you relenting and asking him for just a simple painting.

The gold medal gymnast Sumire, someone you always managed to squeeze in a bit of time to watch is right next to you and it takes all you can to not squeal and ask for an autograph. Which you still get under her due kindness and you can only just wish her happiness in her relationship as thanks. 

And Futaba herself has a big name, being the lead researcher of Cognitive Psience, a study so new it still continues to bewilder you whenever you read up on any news article about any discoveries on it.

As you watch Haru Okumaru, current CEO of Okumura foods, walk in with her girlfriend Makoto Nijima, you couldn’t help but choke on the coffee served by Sojiro who was just a kind man, adoptive father to Futaba.

But still, it was Haru Okumaru, the CEO of the largest food chain, well regarded for her good work ethics and her multiple food chains that include both fast food shops and cozy cafes. All of which were successful under her lead. Not to mention her charitableness, having donated thousands upon millions upon sometimes even billions of yen to charities. 

And Makoto Nijima, the new police chief who within a year brute-forced her way up the ranks and changed the large portion of the police force. Cleansing it of all the corrupt strings that were attached to it, with Akechi Goro to help. 

And all of them in some way or another, an icon to you. All of them being openly queer even in media.

You chat with each of them seamlessly. As if they weren’t some big named person whose name had appeared on the media at least once and you recall a time when you remembered Ryuji’s name appearing as a winner for some races. As crazy as it seemed, they all were so unbelievably _human_ each of them bickering away and cracking jokes.

Not even once did any of them brag about their successes, the only time they brought it up was in a celebratory sense and even then they still blushed, stating that it was only because of their friends that they got so far.

You’re right next to Haru, a drink in hand when you finally say it.

“You know, you guys always seemed so humble on TV and so out of reach that I would never meet you guys…”

She laughs and replies, “Well, we only got here because of what we’ve been through. Which is a lot. And quite honestly, we would never be here, this successful, this happy without each other.”

“Yeah…I can see that. Was sort of jealous of you guys sometimes, being so headstrong and being able to be so open.”

The both of you watched as everyone counted down, fireworks already going off like crazy outside. Your eyes trained on Ryuji most of the time as he chanted with Akira.

“That’s because we understand what it was like when we were hurt. It’s because of that, we all want to help out others. All of us decided to go our own ways, supporting each other, and despite all the glitz and glam. We all had our own setbacks.”

Your eyes widen, you’ve heard stories of people who were now successful having gone through a lot of hardships, but it still doesn’t make you less surprised. 

“I can’t speak for any of my friends, but we all suffered because of adults. I myself was almost forced into a marriage I did not want, but because of my friends, I managed to pull out of it safely. And when I was about to open my first cafe, I was nearly bankrupt, only with the help of my friends chipping in money did I get this far.”

“I, I never knew that…” 

Another soft chuckle comes from her, “Well, what matters now is the present and the future. The future is something that’s earned and I have no doubts in you leading a successful life. And ah, I must add, you’ve been staring at Ryuji-kun a lot. Is there any chance that you like him?”

When the words sink in, your face is infinitely so much warmer than it was before. You sputter out gibberish and look at Haru with a confused and shocked face.

“I- I don’t even know if he’s into guys, and wouldn’t it be desperate of me to ask him out right after getting dumped?”

“That’s for you to decide, Daisuke-san.” 

Haru joins with everyone. It was a spectacle of its own, and Ryuji’s smile was probably the one thing you kept on looking at. 

He was so kind, so nice, so joyful. He managed to make the breakup so much easier to go through and he was cute too. But he said you were friends and the fear of what had happened last time had yet to leave your mind yet. 

His blond hair pops up from the group, noticing that you haven’t joined them yet. He parted from them, slipping to your side.

“You alright there?”

You nod and reply, “I’m just still a bit surprised. Your friends are really cool.”

“They definitely are. Oh yeah, heard from Akira that you were asking about Mona?” You nod again, “I managed to get this from Futaba, she said this is still in testing so we don’t know for sure if it works or not, but just put it on.”

He offers you a video player. You give him a questioning look, but decide to do it anyway. You put in the earbuds and played the video. Suddenly you hear the voice of a man from some black thing and you give Ryuji an even more confused look.

“All I hear is some monster cat talking…?”

He grabs your shoulders and shakes them, “Holy shit, it worked!!” a goofy smile on his face and he looks back at the group, “Futaba, your thing worked! Bring Mona over here!”

Everyone stops talking and they bring Morgana over. You fully expect the cat to meow as you take off the earbuds.

“Mona, say something already. You’re making Daisuke confused.” Futaba quips, paying to Morgana’s annoyance.

Morgana groans a very human groan and replies, “Fine, fine! I, uh, thanks for calling me cute I guess!”

You feel your brain short circuiting and all you can do is point at Morgana and look at Ryuji.

“I- what. Did just, did I just? What the fuck. The cat! Morgana. It- IT SPOKE?!”

“I am NOT a cat! Yes, I am cute, but I’m not a CAT!”

And the entire cafe bursts into laughter, you can’t help but join in. Morgana’s denials and pleas adding more to the laughing.

Futaba wipes a tear from underneath her glasses, she looks at you and answers, “It’s- god it’s so hard not to laugh. It’s a cognitive psience thing. He can talk, but your cognition makes it so that you think he’s just a cat and can’t talk. It’s only a special case with Mona though, cause he’s technically the “dregs of human hope” or something like that.”

“I…okay…I’ll just accept the fact that Morgana can...talk I guess.”

“Ain’t it cool though? Before, it was only just us, except for Shiho, who can't hear him. But now, you can too and that means Shiho! Your turn!” His smile is bright and it’s warm and it’s so cute that you can’t help but smile along with him. 

The party goes on for a little while longer, finally coming to a close at around 1 where everyone left either through Uber or driving back home. They all share their chat IDs with you, hoping to get to know you better and offering help if you needed it. 

Before you hop into your Uber home, Ryuji bids you farewell.

“Well, see you whenever I guess. Here’s to hoping that 20XX is good for both of us.”

Nodding along, you agree with him, “Likewise.”

The trip back, your face is flush warm and your heart is giddy happy. All of your past winter holidays were spent alone, whether it’d be inside binge reading or watching some mediocre show or just alone, with nothing to do but mull around and buy anything that was still there on discount. 

As you slip into bed, freshly washed and body warm from the hot water, you open up your phone and see Ryuji’s messages.

Ryuji Sakamoto  
  
now that i think abt it i never asked you about what your new years resolution is  
  
shit prob shouldnt be asking you rn since its like 2am  
  
**Today** 2:24AM  
Oh, don't worry about it! I just finished showering.  
  
As for my resolution. Hm, I was thinking of just something everyone would do and that'd be running more often.  
  
What about you?  
  
i always wanted to eat at every ramen place but never had the money but now that im on a track team that pays well i wanna do that now  
  
also!! you wanna run with me? in the morning?  
  
Oh, I still need to buy the proper shoes though...  
  
then well just buy em tomorrow! i normally third wheel akira and akechi on the new years to buy stuff  
  
Yeah, well I guess we see each other tomorrow? And hopefully, with me there it's like a double date?  
  
hope so........gn and cya tomorrow!  
  


_“He...he didn’t correct me.”_

The thought lingers in your mind. It just stays there sinking in oh so slowly. Sleep soon catches you, leaving you still thinking about it.

The next day comes and you’re at the station waiting for them. Goro is the first to come, his staggering height still a wonder to you.

“I gotta ask, Akechi, how’d you meet Akira by the way?”

“His class was at a TV station for their history class field trip and he so happened to be chosen to comment on my thoughts on the Phantom Thieves. And everything after that just happened. We had our, well, I can’t quite call it ups and downs, but it was something akin to that with some more severity to it.”

“Ah, then I probably shouldn’t pry then.”

He smiles a bit and adds, “Thank you for understanding. Now then-” he turns over his wrist, looking at his watch, “do you think we should call them? It’s been 4 minutes past our meet up time.”

“Well, it hasn’t reached the 10-minute mark yet, so-”

“Hey! Guys!” 

From afar you see Ryuji waving at you two, Akira at his side and looking at Goro with a smile.

“Hey honey, sorry for being late,” Akira says, his hands instantly linking with Goro.

Ryuji is already at your side, sighing.

“You know how I am with schedules…now then, shall we?”

He groans at their affection and you can only smile and laugh a bit, happy for the two of them and humored at Ryuji’s annoyance. 

The four of you make your way to the mall. Soon separating with Akira telling the both of you two to go on without them, reasoning that it’d feel like you were going to third wheel him and Goro.

So now, here you were with Ryuji at the shoe store. 

“Hey, try this one?” He slips your foot in, _“Feels like I’m Cinderella or something…”_ , your face flushes a bit at the awkward position.

You stand up and start walking around, trying to feel it out. 

“Mmm, it’s a bit uncomfortable in the back…” Your fingers feel around the insides of the shoe, the roughness a little too unbearable even with your socks on. 

“Hmm, alright, lemme look for another one.” He gets up and takes the shoes away, leaving you to sit and wait. 

You swing your legs a bit, fiddling with your thumbs. 

_”Today’s been a good day…”_

You hummed a bit to a song that you’ve been listening to for a while. A small smile on your lips as you reminisce on what has happened. All of the happy moments you had because of Ryuji and you’re just _happy_.

Finally, he returns with a pair that looks almost just right with you, a triumphant smile on his face, “Pretty sure I found the right one.”

“Are you sure? You said that a while ago and we’ve been in here for a while already.” You tease him with a cheeky smile.

His face turns a bit red and he starts muttering, shoving the pair of shoes to you, “Just try em, these are the perfect ones, I can feel it.”

You take the pair and put them on, getting up to walk around. You move around a bit, testing each bit of it for comfort and nothing seems to be out of place and it feels nice all around.

“You know, this is just right. So I guess you find the perfect one.”

Which earns you Ryuji smiling, something you really want to get a picture of someday, with his permission of course.

“Toldja! You don't have anything else to buy right?” 

You shake your head, already putting on your shoes as you put them back neatly into the box, “Let’s grab something to eat after we pay.”

You pay for your pair of new shoes and quickly head over to the food court after hearing Ryuji’s stomach growl impossibly so loud. Lunch itself goes over without a hitch, both of you hanging out in the couches that litter the mall. 

You look up from your phone and notice Ryuji fidgeting a bit, “Need help with something?” 

“I gotta buy something for some formal party for the track teams. Supposed to be some fancy meetup before all the competitions start, but I don’t got anything to wear to it,” he sighs, a little tired and his smile now a bit lopsided, “Sorry for worrying a bit.”

You snap your fingers, remembering that one boutique you had fallen in love with, “Oh, it’s alright! Actually, I know a good place for this!” You pull Ryuji up and start bringing him somewhere. Some point your hand on his wrist fell down to his hand and he blushed a bit. You heard him choke out a thank you and you hum along, walking slowed down a bit.

When you reach the boutique, your hands are still holding Ryuji’s and you finally notice. Quickly, you rescind your hand, face already bright red as you move to open the door, “Ah, um, sorry about that, this is the place!”

Both of you head in, soft classical music quickly filled into your ears, easing you out of the embarrassment. 

Soon, you're bringing outfits to Ryuji, each time he goes in and comes out. He looks good in them, but it just doesn’t really _fit_ him. 

You’re analyzing the last one of the bunch you chose, looking at him from head to toe, “Mmm, nah, doesn’t work…” he sighs, it’s already the 5th outfit, going back in to change.

You decide to get up and look just one more time, noting that red always seemed to work well with him. Starting with a red tie. You look around for the right button up, soon spotting a gray button-up with golden buttons. You check the size, only just a bit smaller than Ryuji's actual size, meaning that it was able to hug around Ryuji just enough to show his physique. 

_”Just in case he gets drunk and pops off a few buttons.”_

When your eyes spot a perfectly black with a golden accent suit vest and black pants, you feel confident, quickly going back to where the dressing rooms were and laying them on the couches. As you look down, you huff out, expectant that it would work.

Suddenly you feel a weight on your shoulder, “Oh, you thinking this one will work?”

Ryuji is right next to you, just a hair away from your cheek, your burning bright red cheek and you could only choke out, “Y-yeah! Just gimme the other ones, I’ll um hand 'em back to the staff!”

As you walk off and hand the rest of the suits back, Ryuji already back in the dressing room and trying on a new outfit. You feel like your heart is going to break your rib cage, with how fast it’s beating.

_“Oookay, okay, calm down Daisuke, caaaalm down.”_

You breathed in and out slowly, calming your heart down and getting your stomach butterfly free. 

When you get back to the dressing room, Ryuji is out, casually rolling the sleeves up to his elbows and, _”Oh my god, oh my god, ohmygod, ohmYGOD! WHY IS HE SO HANDSOME?!”_

You feel your heart skip a beat and butterflies invade your stomach in an instant. 

“I, uh, Daisuke? Does it not work?”

“O-oh, no. No, no way, i-it just really. I’m just, uh. It looks really good on you! I think we found the right one!”

Ryuji fiddles around with the buttons a bit, the gray shirt hugging his muscles in a way that isn’t too tight but just tight enough to show his muscles. The black suit vest contrasts well with his blond hair, the red tie adding a splash of a 3rd color, but not fighting with the subtle gold accents.

He smiles a toothy smile, dimples on his cheeks adding to it, “Yeah, think we did. Thanks! Was a bit worried about it for a while.”

“N-no problem, I’m happy I was of help to you!”

The shopping trip comes to an end, the two of you parting ways at the station. As you head back home, the warm feeling at the mall stuck with you, like glue.

Next day approaches and you finally start your daily runs. They ended with you exhausted a bit winded. However with Ryuji there, cheering you on and helping you out whenever you needed it. You started looking forward to the runs, gradually getting better and better as the months passed by. 

Then, as the sky was only starting to wake up, days already growing shorter as autumn was right around the corner.

“Hey, you wanna run a marathon with me?”

The two of you are taking a water break, enjoying the sunrise as the clouds warm up with a golden shine and the sky cleans itself of yesterday night with sky blue.

“A marathon?” Your voice is a bit hesitant. Marathons are long and you just, don’t really know.

He nods, “Yeah, you’ve been getting better and better! I normally run with Akechi and sometimes Makoto if I’m lucky, but this year they’re both super busy. You don’t need to say yes! Wouldn’t want to make you do something you didn’t want to do though so you can say no.”

“I’ll...think about it. Our breaks over, so let’s get back to running.”

After finishing up your morning run, the two of you casually walk around now. You were tossing the idea a bit in your mind, still a bit indecisive.

“I think...I think I’ll do it,” Ryuji turns around, giving you a look. You fidget under his gaze, a little embarrassed and scratching your neck, “The marathon. I want to do it, with, um, you of course.”

“Oh. Ohhhh, really?” You nod, Ryuji’s smile growing brighter, “Great! We’ve got like a few months left to train and you’re already faster than before!”

You smile a bit, a warm feeling filling your body. 

Months pass by quickly, your running has gotten way better. Already able to run long distances with one break needed. 

The marathon itself was an entire beast of its own still. Taking you around 5 hours to complete it and by the end of it, you were on the grass, exhausted.

“Gah! How are you not tired, Ryuji?!”

He shrugs and gives you another cup of water, which you promptly gulp down in a blink.

“I am on a track team. And besides! You still finished it, which is awesome! These things are super long and you’ve only been running for a year too.”

You propped yourself up on your elbows, “Y-yeah, I guess so…Well, I definitely wouldn’t be here without you though. So, thank you Ryuji.” 

Smiling a bit, you fall back onto the grass, reminiscing over the past year that happened. How you met him, how you managed to meet AND befriend an entire group of celebrities, and especially how Ryuji has made you happy.

_”Haru was right, I do like him...a lot too.”_

But, fear lingers in you. What if he doesn’t feel that way for you? What if he already has eyes for someone else? 

Your eyes stare up at the sky, the tree hiding you from the sun. Winter was cold, but the marathon left you hot and sweaty, now enjoying the cold breeze. 

You look over at Ryuji, who’s resting on the tree trunk, just silently watching people. He was never all that quiet, it felt unnatural for him to be so quiet. But that didn’t mean his looks were different. 

His eyes, brown and honey-like, his cheeks still a bit flushed after the marathon. 

“I like someone.”

Before you even realized it, your mouth opened and blurted out something.

You turn and look at Ryuji, who’s a bit shocked, but quickly smiles after. 

“Really? Wanna tell me?”

And again, before you even thought of it, you nodded.

“Well, he’s um, really nice honestly. He made me so, _so_ happy and it’s just. I don’t know. I don’t know if he likes me back or if he’s even gay. He’s also super cute and his smiles are really bright too. He’s a lot like the sun, I guess…super bright and warm. But feels so out of reach.”

Your hands are reaching upward, pinching the sun between your fingers. It’s so small, yet so big. So far, yet so seemingly close.

“He seems like a really nice person. You tell him yet?”

“...No...not yet.”

You can feel him smiling at you, teeth and all, “You probably should tell ‘em, I’m sure you won’t regret it!”

“Then now would be the best time?”

“On the phone? Shouldn’t you tell him like face to face, though?”

You get up, your face already burning red, but it was now or never. Plopping yourself in front of Ryuji.

“I...the one I was talking about, was you,” finally realization clicks in his head, cheeks already growing to be as red as yours, “I really really like you and um, I was scared for a year. Kinda fell in love with you after all the shit that happened around Christmas. At first that you might hate me because I was gay. Then, the whole New Year’s party made me think you weren’t gay with all the Morgana thing, and I just! I wanted to tell you! You, um, you obviously don’t need to say yes. It’s just, I wanted to get this off my chest t-that’s all. I’m so-”

Before you could even finish your apologies, soft and slightly chapped lips kissed your’s. Slowly, you closed your eyes, relishing in the warm kiss. No tongue or teeth were involved. Just a slow long kiss. His hands, callous but kind holding your cheeks. His hair tickling your forehead.

When you finally part, Ryuji is flustered and is pouting a bit, “You think too much sometimes.”

You look at him with shock, your brain barely processing anything.

Slowly as snow falls down from the sky, you can’t help but smile and hug him.

Winter was always cold, you never liked it. It was a lonely season for you, but maybe, it’s not going to be anymore. You thought.

**Author's Note:**

> me at the giftee:  
>  I HOPE THIS WAS GOOD!!


End file.
